Over-50

Baby Boomers, Whether You Became a Billionaire or Not, You Still Didn't Win in America

"Father, forgive me. I had acquired wealth."

Finally, sizes up Bloomberg, the Apollo Fund is moving out of the shadow of scandal. Investors are re-committed. 

The specifics of the previous Apollo brand tarnishing included media-grabbing tidbits like association with Jeffrey Epstein. 

Okay, Epstein was a bad guy.

But the intensity of the hit to the Apollo brand and its one-time head Leon Black is not really about that, is it? The root of the self-righteous hysteria seems to be this: America's ambivalence about wealth. Both institutional and personal. 

On the one hand, the Puritan ethos had the acquisition of wealth as a the play-out of the right moral values. The lack of it was interpreted as a lack of those. That's not gone away. Shame on you. You're not on the list of billionaries under-40.  

On the other hand, there is the embedded meme: Money is the root of all evil. Had Black not possessed such personal wealth he wouldn't have been able to have become involved in a romantic dalliance resulting in a lawsuit against him and a countersuit by him, right. We're certain of that. We praise MacKenzie Scott for giving away so much of her wealth.

The problem is that the ambivance (along with the certitude) is growing. That means so much confusion. 

On an individual level, the Hamptons had become a symbol of decadence. The media does photos of disgraced "Today" executive Matt Lauer you know where: the Hamptons. 

As for institutional wealth. Where to begin. Yes, folks want the returns on their investments in public companies to be amazing. Simultaneously they want the corporations producing them not to showcase wealth in terms of power and influence.

No, they shouldn't be dictating where the employees are working from.

No, they cannot choose whom they want to hire.

No they can't just operate the business when there is so much suffering in the world. And, the brass is getting paid too damn much. Wall Street? You don't want your kid training there as a junior analyst. And as a lawyer do you want to work at a BigLaw firm representing Wall Street? 

A proven out public relations firm like Edelman might have to be parachuted in to design a campaign for rebranding wealth as an economic-growth necessity. It's like the car industry is the 1950s. What was good for GM was good for the creation of the middle class. Only the creation of more wealth now will restore that middle clas. Tighten that up as a message.

In addition, corporate leadership has to get smarter about identifying where the landmines are on this one and how to not step on them. That's the rub. What was a standard value a month ago is verboten yesterday and today who the hell knows. Check your values before you start announcing policies this morning.

That's why law firms' ESG (environmental, social, goverance) practices may be evolving into the most critical service to current clients and to prospective ones. That could be inventing a new category of what law firms do, in addition to the traditional transactional and litigation segments. Actually, that could be more important than the latter two. Will law firms come to declare that the real busines that they are in is saving American capitalism? Part of that is figuring out social justice for the clients.

Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp, has captured that new core function of a law firm in how it has  positioned and packaged its own ESG practice mission.

Essentially the language is code for how to succeed despite what's happening externally and internally (employee activism). The current cultural upheaval doesn't get corporations off the hook for producing over-the-top financial performance. But they better do that and communicate about that in ways that walk the line on the perception of wealth.

Here is the Paul Weiss mission:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

Meanwhile, the Delta variant has introduced more uncertainty. Folks don't like that. Individuals and organizations with wealth will likely be taking it on the chin. There could be greater expectations of help from them as well as vilification of what they are assumed to be about. Give us your money and get out of our sight.

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Baby Boomers - Work Sure Wasn't Anything Like This When We Were Climbing the Ladder

First Politico

Then BusinessInsider

Now, the New York Post. Here you can read it hot off the press.

All three contain interviews with current and former staffers of Kamala Harris, in four different professional settings. The settings are: as current U.S. Vice President, San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General and the U.S. Senate.

The narrative could be summed up this way: Allegedly, Harris injected toxicity into the workplace. It has been contended that she was inpatient with staff, often without justification. That included hanging up if she had not gotten the answer she wanted. There were claims of a culture of paranoia. 

Should Harris' boss U.S. President Joe Biden call in law firm Jenner & Block? As Bloomberg Law reports, Jenner & Block recently has launched a new practice which handles formal investigations of alleged toxic workplaces.

Executives at Deloitte U.K, and KPMG U.K. had to step down from their big jobs because of accusations of bullying. 

Rapidly, that kind of behavior by a leader or a manager is becoming a transgression that is unforgivable. If it involves sexual misconduct, even if alleged and not proven, then a comeback from such a scandal seems to be impossible. Neither broadcast executive Les Moonves nor Matt Lauer has been able to make any progress in reputation restoration. Yet, someone like Mike Milken, who had served time in prison for a financial crime, has been able to reimagine his brand as a respected high-profile philanthropist. 

This selective focus on certain kinds of behavior which are considered beyond redemption - and others given absolution by society - mirrors which is going on in a more general and sweeping way in American business.

According to recent research by a team headed by Michelle K. Lee, chief executives are more likely to lose their jobs because of a wrong call on social justice issues than a financial blunder. The axing would be done by investors. That report is titled: "The Distinct Effects - and CSR-oriented Shareholder Unrest on CEO Career Outcomes." It is published in the Academy of Management Journal, November 1, 2020.

It has become almost a necessity for corporations to seek out the new kind of services law firms offer to guide executive decision-making and actual behavior during this era of values beyond the bottom line. Like Jenner & Block's toxic-workplace practice, this one essentially is involved with soft issues. However, they can generate everything from litigation to a plunge in the stock price.

Among the law firms which have been early adopters of practices oriented toward assisting corporations to navigate the complexities of this disruption in values is Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp. It goes by a moniker as broad as its mission: Sustainability & Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory. The way Paul Weiss positions and packages that mission is:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

My hunch, just as McKinsey & Co. discusses in its latest article about hybrid work arrangements, is that the very nature of work will become an ESG matter. Law firms probably have already geared up for that development. 

Like as the Industrial Revolution changed how and where people worked, the impacts of COVID, along with an upheaval in society's mores and technology, mandates a total rethinking of work.

If corporations make the wrong moves on this one, their brand could be set reeling. So could the stock.

Meanwhile, language or how we talk about work will be among the first thing to change. Gen Z will see to that. 

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Baby Booomers from Jersey City, NJ - Maybe We Never Have Been Able to Shake the Ethos of the Frank Hague Political Machine

Earnest

Visionary

And, in terms of implementation through more than a dozen federal agencies, a test of the political and management skills of the Biden Administration.

That's the Executive Order on Competition, which you can read here. Its 72 initiatives cover everything from non-compete clauses imposed on low-wage workers to mergers. 

The platitude applied to sum up its ethos is to circle back to the priorities of "trustbuster" Teddy Roosevelt.

However, the more insightful way to capture what it is about is to resurrect the spirit and the messaging of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Essentially that 1939 film, directed by Frank Capra, celebrates the power of doing the right thing on behalf of Everyman (or what Joe Biden refers to as the "little guy). The movie's protagonist Jefferson Smith represents the ultimate whistleblower about what has gone so wrong in America. 

In the Capra world, those noble causes win out. Like now, back then it was a time of crisis. The background for "Mr. Smith" was The Great Depression. Now, the times are about the uncertainties of the Post-COVID economy (along with the return of COVID), surging inflation and hardened polarization.

Watching "Mr. Smith" this weekend can be uplifting. Downright inspiring. 

However, this weekend the little guy whom Biden is determined to help could be wondering what really will play out from the 72 initiatives. And how much will it improve the life of the little guy? 

Go to various "listening posts" around America, such as the check-out lines in Walmart (I take in what those I coach say), and it's likely that what will be picked up is the sense of powerlessness.

The tone and content mirror the resignation of those who endured the Frank Hague political machine in the mid 20th century. What resonates in my consciouness is the mantra: You can't fight City Hall. The residents of Hudson County, New Jersey, such as my immigrant family, accepted their powerlessness. Everything from jobs to getting your mother in a nursing home had been determined by the Machine.

Does the Biden Administration have the little people behind this EO? Do the people believe things can change?  Or will the loudest voice in the corridors of power be those of entrenched interests? The lobbyists reportedly are already busy conjuring up counterstrategies.

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So, What to Think? - We Came of Age When What Was Good for GM Was Good for the Country

"Corporate tax departments are facing an under-the-radar element of ESG-focused activist investing that’s gaining traction and would more directly affect bottom lines than the addition of women and minorities to corporate boards or publishing environmental impact reports." - Bloomberg Law, July 6, 2021.

This push for tax transparency, along with the end of "tax planning," could be the tipping point for corporations to push back on The Triple Bottom Line.

They might have "gone along" with myriad triple Bottom Line (People, Planet Earth, Profits) or ESG (Environmental Social Governance) demands of investors and activists. But how they pay (or not pay) their taxes is embedded in the way business operates in America. At this point, they could decide it's time to push-back and maybe not in a stealth manner. 

For example, corporations have to stop House Bill 1187 from gaining any support in the Senate. That is all about tax disclosure. 

In the court of public opinion they have to get out that old-line message about the positive impact corporations have on the American economy. That had been standard in the 1970s. Recall that mantra: What is good for General Motors is good for the nation. It took lawyer-activist Ralph Nader to document that General Motors wasn't even good for the safety of the nation when it went on the road with its cars. 

But the public relations part could be tough sledding. The Biden Administration's agenda includes having corporations pay their fair share of taxes. This ESG outreach reinforces that message. 

Of course, corporations could also be turning to their law firms' ESG practices to guide them about every aspect, from legal to the branding, of the tax-disclosure focus. This latest development could precipitate a genuine crisis. Think everything from protests to boycotts to social network mayhem. 

As the law firm ESG practices such as at Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp, are structured they provide a kind of one-stop shopping for the new complexities created by this championing of the Triple Bottom Line.

The Paul Weiss approach positions and packages those realities this way:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

In essence, what the ESG front lines on this want is for U.S. corporations to become more like European and Australian ones. Both business cultures embrace the notion that they should pay their fair share in taxes to support everything from the community to the national infrastructure.

On a broader basis, 130 nations have created a proposal for a multinational tax rate of 15%. Therefore, corporate resistance to tax transparency is also going up against international opinion. 

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The Souring of the Counterculture - ESG Is Also Playing Out to Be Disappointing

Today, I posted on Wilson Sonsini's Neuron innovation. That's one big step in its mission to disrupt the legal startup space. Immediately, heavy traffic. 

A few hours before I had posted on ESG, specifically Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter's contention that employees should be among the central deciders. Traffic has been holiday-light.

As we say in communications: Innovation is sexy.

Innovation is the future, not being stuck in sad reflections about COVID and lessons learned.

Innovation is essential to figuring out the horses we should be betting on in our careers.

Innovation is even exciting in an old-fashioned gee-whiz way (we can still be awed).

In contrast, ESG has taken on too many moving parts. OMG. 

So many stakeholders have rushed onto the playing field. The Wall Street Journal details all that recent activity. BTW, the folks at the WSJ are calling that "Stakeholder Capitalism." 

Even thinking about Stakeholder Capitalism is frustrating. 

Recently, my posts about law firm ESG practices, such as Paul Weiss' engineerd by Brad Karp, only get sustained heavy traffic if I position and package them as innovation. Here is an example. Posted on June 18th, it still is clickbait.  You bet, put "Innovation" in the headline. And, the first paragraph.

Also, ESG is playing out as disenchanting as the late 1960s counterculture had been. So much liberation had been promised. Instead we found ourselves bullied by smelly long-haired guys seemingly eager for, well, you know ...

ESG seems to have mutated into an arena of competing interests, with sharp elbows and visions of class actions. 

That is reality. The implications, at least to pragmatists, are obvious. Those looking for attention - journalists, bloggers, law-firm public relations/marketing staff and more - should angle their material to fit perfectly in the innovation box. That might be, yes, ESG or antitrust or a win for the firm. For SEO purposes the term "innovation" has to be frontloaded. 

We Baby Boomers Have Lived Through Plenty of Professional Advice - The Latest from Professor Kanter, Well ...

"Companies that don’t give rank-and-file workers a central role in their environmental, social and governance (ESG) work are making a mistake. They risk alienating values-oriented employees who question company practices, and they miss a big opportunity for employee engagement at a time when attracting and retaining talent is imperative and difficult." Rosabeth Moss Kanter, The Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2021.

As both corporate leaders and the law firms which counsel them know: EGS, which has taken on the more recent title "Stakeholder Capitalism," has become increasingly confusing.

What are the priorities?

What are the consequences of putting resources there and there and not here and here?

And, then how does business address that fallout, which will probably play out in lawsuits which seek class action certification.

The approach advocated by Kanter may be too simplistic. A role for employess, yes. Central? How many central power centers can there be in sorting out this disruption? Of course, it's about power. It always is. This time the debate is positioned and packaged as "values."

On June 24, 2021, Alison Taylor detailed in The Wall Street Journal the growing conflicts among the groups of stakeholders which have been allowed into the "box." They range from environmental advocates to communities. Their new power is obvious, as became clear in the Exxon boardroom-seat coup.

So broad in scope is this issue of who decides and what is decided and based on what values that elite law firms such as Paul Weiss have established specialized practices.

It had been Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp, 15 months ago, who anticipated those points of fissure. Paul Weiss' Sustainability & Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Practice has as its mission:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

That snippet - "ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives" - is corporatese for indicating the seismic troubles rumbling beneath the surface of strategic thinking and implementation.

Kanter's recommendation, which can be interpreted as reductionistic, can be dangerous. What the court of public opinion and/or particular stakeholder interests had interpreted as a violation of the "right values" have often hardened into the new ESG category I label "The Unforgiven."

A classic example is Coca-Cola. It hasn't been able to shake off the conflicts among different groups of stakeholders precipitated by its social justice initiatives ranging from diversity to voting rights. On June 21st, The Thinking Conservative reported that Coca-Cola's shareholders belonging to the American Rights Project demanded the corporation walk back diversity initiatives they declare are illegal. 

Admittedly, be it in BigLaw or the Mom-Pop restaurant, rank and file workers have gained power - as well they should. Also, they should have more power. The timing for that is just right, as the Teamseters figured out. At their annual convention they passed the resolution to organize Amazon's drivers and employees in the warehouses and the distribution center.

However, employees, as well as vendors such as myself, represent only one type of stakeholder. 

For years I have championed Kanter's provocative thought leadership. Her book "Confidence" is right up there in useful career advice as is Dan Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence."

For instance, "Confidence" connects the dots on how belief in yourself and your approach leads to success. One reason? You are willing to invest the necessary resources to make that happen. In analyzing the wins of BigLaw attorneys such as Karp I have noticed the unique role of seeming extreme self-confidence.

Stakeholder capitalism is too critical an issue in business to become a victim of any expert positing of an easy solution.

Its complexity is palpable. In fact, even conceptualization has become more difficult because of it. In composing articles on sustainability for third-party media I now agonize over each idea and even each word.

A week ago, after submitting the article, I got it that my angle was, well, reductionistic. I gave out a "stop the presses" and went back to the struggle to provide some real guidance to readers.

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Saving Souls, From the Counterculture to Law Firms on the Front Lines of Social Justice

"Law firms burnishing their social justice bonafides are lining up to watchdog police departments for the Justice Department even though lawyers say it’s a typically thankless job." - Ayanna Alexander, Bloomberg Law, June 29, 2021.

The watchdog mission is just one of the growing number of outreach activities which law firms are busy doing as they rebrand for being on the front lines of social justice. 

We who were politically active during the counterculture are among the most cynical about that kind of reputation positioning and packaging.

After we emerged from the force field of the urgent need to radicalize America ("Steal This Book"), we defaulted into referring to our previous activities as "saving souls."

Oh, there were souls we really did save.

Janitors who went to strike in support of justice in university admissions got back the jobs they had lost.

Professors had to develop human touchpoints with students.

Food coops simulated socialism.

But no way were we able to block the university from plowing down those cute fire-trap boarding houses to build more administrative offices. And the number of administrators mushroomed as faculty hires declined. 

Currently law firms probably find that soul-saving is competitive. Which firm has the highest profile initiative with the most results? The media will cover that. Social justice has become sexy. Actually, it always was.

When COVID fully leaves town, the vision I have for circling back to intense caring is pitching the local prison warden on my teaching writing to inmates pro bono.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Progressive Baby Boomers - Remember Our Wild Enthusiasm for The Triple Bottom Line

"It" all sounded so right (factoring in people, the planet and more), so on-time (with the global revolt against traditional capitalism) and so simple (just shift a little from the one-dimensional obsession with profits).

The terms applied to that it ranged from The Triple Bottom Line to ESG investing (Environmental Social and Governance).

Now, as The Wall Street Journal discusses the it, the shift to factoring in multiple interests goes by the term "Stakeholder Capitalism." In that discussion, the WSJ points to the struggle corporate leaders are having with determining which stakeholders's wants/needs should take priority and which they really don't have to listen to. 

Is the it a nightmare?

Could be.

Coca-Cola still hasn't been able to shake off the conflicts among different groups of stakeholders precipitated by its social justice initiatives ranging from diversity to voting rights. On June 21st, The Thinking Conservative reported that Coca-Cola's shareholders belonging to the American Rights Project demanded the corporation walk back diversity initiatives they declare are illegal.

And, that sort of push-back by one set of stakeholders against another set likely is just gaining traction. 

Meanwhile, corporate chief executive officers could lose their jobs over, to put it bluntly, "betting on the wrong horse" when it comes to social and political issues. That very real career peril is documented in research by Abhenav Gupta, Michelle K. Lee and Donald Hambrick. Published in the Academy of Management, its title is: The Distinct Effects of Wealth- and CSR-Oriented Shareholder Unrest on CEO Career Outcomes: A New Lens on Settling Up and Executive Job Demands. 

No slouches when it comes to emerging legal problems, some law firms anticipated the challenges corporations would be facing in this brave new world of what will likely now go by the name of Stakeholder Capitalism.

They established ESG practices. That was analogous to how some law firms beefed up their regulatory practices. They anticipated the Biden Administration's regulatory crackdown on both corporations and executives. Regardingthe latter, just like the former Chief Executive Officer of the Peanut Corporation of America - Stewart Parnell - corporate leadership could be personally convicted of criminal acts. 

Well, this new kid on the block - ESG - is no longer so new. And it no longer requires an explanation for what is.

Among the comprehensive ESG practice models I have studied which hit all stakeholder touchpoints had been created by Brad Karp at Paul Weiss. That was about 15 months ago. Time travel back then and recall the optimism about the Triple Bottom Line. However, Paul Weiss probably foresaw the challenges. Here's how the Paul Weiss practice presents the scope of its mission:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

As I interpret it, the "ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives" is code for conflicts. Those could wind up as a dispute which becomes a lawsuit, preferably one which seeks class action certification.

Stakeholder Capitalism ideally is supposed to be able to provide what very different kinds of stakeholders need and want. How progressive.

But in the rough and tumble of real life interests are competing. Could that, based on the cunning of the interests, harden into a kind of zero-sum game? Not unthinkable.

Law firms will earn their money on this one. Just as their antitrust practices, transactional and litigation, will earn their money in the era of the FTC chaired by Lina Khan.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Business Owners, Lawyers, Journalists - Talk Values

Money is no longer the loudest voice in the corridors of capitalism. 

Oh, it's still making plenty of noise.

But there has been a seismic shift in how shareholders evaluate the performance of chief executives officers.

No longer is it primarily on the metrics of financial performance. What also loops in is the CEOs' track record in environmental issues, diversity, the product portfolio and political stances. Those are figuring in more on the career prospects of corporate leaders than bottom-line issues. Yes, jobs can be lost because of a poor grades on the report card for the social and the political. 

That phenomenon is  documented in research by Abhenav Gupta, Michelle K. Lee and Donald Hambrick. Published in the Academy of Management, its title is: The Distinct Effects of Wealth- and CSR-Oriented Shareholder Unrest on CEO Career Outcomes: A New Lens on Settling Up and Executive Job Demands. 

As the recent board coup at Exxon over climate-change issues showcased, there is considerable shareholder unrest. In the process CEOs' jobs are in play. 

PWC found that the median tenure of CEOs is five years. 39% had been forced out because of ethical lapses. A strong niche in law firm practices is conducting internal investigations of alleged CEO misbehavior. The high profile example of that had been the probe at Fox News of its late leader Roger Ailes.

Also a growth area for law firms are their ESG practices. An example is the model created at Paul Weiss by its Chairman Brad Karp. Here is how its focus is positioned and packaged on the Paul Weiss website:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

Meanwhile, there is reduced tolerance for all kinds of deviation from what is evolving to be the new norms for personal conduct for leadership. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that the CEO and Chairperson of consulting firm Teneo - Delecan Kelly - lost the General Motors' account and was removed from the Global Citizen board. That was because of his inappropriate behavior associated with his alcohol consumption at a charity event. He did a mea culpa but that hasn't resulted in any reputation restoration, as least not yet. 

Overall, having bad personal behavior listed on the report card has blocked career comebacks. Out there still out of the power loop are one-time movers and shakers like former CBS CEO Les Mooves.

Values are intersecting with legalities. Lawyers in the ESG box will have to take on the mantle of minister and ethics expert in guiding corporate clients through the emerging new landscape.

In the field of communications, more of my client assignments deal with sustainability issues. Those have even become a must-focus-on among small retailers. Their systems, ranging from inventory to packaging, have to integrate people and planet earth, in addition to profits. 

The language of business has become the language of values. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Power - Casting Spells

Much of media coverage has focused on how being part of the Trump Administration has made it difficult for some lawyers to find good jobs.

For instance, Bloomberg Law points out those who have not landed on their feet, at least not yet. Those include William Barr, Jeffrey Rosen, Robert Lighthizer and Pat Cipollone.

Others just have part-time jobs or assignments.

And there are those who took private sector positions who might have preferred the heady experience of being in an elite law firm.

But the story not told often enough are the ones like that of former Attorney General in the Obama Administration - Loretta Lynch.

As Bloomberg Law documents, it took her 17 months to be hired by prominent law firm Paul Weiss. There she is a partner. The usual time to recycle into The Next for former administration lawyers is about six months.

Like lawyers from the Trump Administration, Lynch wound up carrying some heavy baggage.

The most high profile was her meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton on the tarmac in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time his wife Hillary Clinton was under investigation for using her private email account.  The New York Times certainly took note of that. Recently that saga grew legs again with the apparent suicide of Christopher Sign who had broken the story of the meeting. Lynch's name was back in the headlines - literally.

Like posts on the internet, that part of Lynch's career may never be able to be buried.

Currently, she could be picking up new baggage. At Paul Weiss she is leading the defense team for the giant Black bias lawsuit "Christine Crawford, et al. v. McDonald's. Here is a copy of the complaint.

The arguments the Lynch team has made include that the franchise contract contains no promise of success and that the corporation has no incentive to create systemic discrimination that would reduce its own earnings. Those seeem solid. The case might lack merit.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs allege that McDonald's essentially put them on a financial suicide mission. As Mike Snider reports in USA Today, they contend:

" ... that the company steered them to operate restaurants in 'economically depressed,' communities and 'dangerous locations.' These store locations had high rent and operating costs and were likely to generate lower sales than comparable ones elsewhere ..."

That cost structure, the plaintiffs claim, involved higher than average insurance and security expenses. From 1988 through 2018, they operated 200 stores. Overall, that alleged systemic discrimination against Blacks triggered bankruptcy decisions. Meanwhile, they contend, McDonald's gained from its access to consumers in those neighborhoods.

As a woman of color, Lynch's role defending the fast food giant against 52 former Black franchisees can be perceived as not-right. However, it could also be interpreted as a testament to the rightness of McDonald's business transactions with those franchise owners. Look, people could think, even a woman of color is arguing against the allegation of bias against Blacks.

Serving as a lawyer in an any administration, as Lynch's career shows, can be both high-reward and high-risk. No one can predict what the lawyer will choose to do, not do or be "encouraged" to do to be a team player. 

Will the examples of the struggles of those lawyers discourage other lawyers from public service in an administration?

Probably not.

Power and influence cast spells. There is the unique voodoo of being a player in any administration.

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